Sri Dakshinaamoorty Stotram

Adi Sankara, the founder, propounder and exegete of adwaita siddhanta – monism, composed a prayer paying obeisance to Sri Dakshinaamoorty. This is written in the form of an ashtakam (literally eight verses) but this is prefaced with verses of prayer and contemplation and at end there could be, phalashruti, fruit of the repetition of the verses, too. The standard eight is not really a limit since there could be a ninth added on too.

The blessed acharya saw Lord Dakshinaamoorty, the form of Lord Shiva. The poet-seer saw Him seated facing south under a banyan tree showing chinmudra, a posture of extreme joy and mood of transmitting jnaana, spiritual wisdom to His disciples. The preceptor was silent but the questions of the disciples were cleared just by His maunam, absolute silence.

The stotram, hymn or song of praise, is prefaced with some dhyana slokas, contemplative verses:

Om namah pranavaardhaaya shuddha jnanaika moortaye
Nirmalaya prashaantaya dakshinamoortayenamah

Salutations to You, the one who is the exemplification of the meaning of PRANAVA (OM), the embodiment of all knowledge and wisdom, the purest and the most peaceful one, to Lord Dakshinaamoorty.

Gurave sarva lokaanam, bhishajee sarva roginaam
Nidhaye sarva vidyaanaam, dakshinaamoortayenamah

Salutations to You, the preceptor to all the worlds, the medic of all diseases, the treasure of all accomplishments, salutations, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

mauna vyakhyaa prakatitha parabrahma thatwam yuvaanam
varshishtaanthe asadrushiganairavrutam brahmanishtaih
acharyendram kara kalita chinmudramaanandaroopam
swaatmaraamam muditha vadanam dakshinamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one who professes forth with a gesture the essence of the nature of the Supreme Being  to the groups of seers and sages committed to know it, to the ever blissful, to the one who is the inner  deity , the effulgent faced, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

The following are the slokas:

om viswam darpana drushyamaana nagareetulyam nijantargatham
pasyannatmani maayaya bahirivodbhutam yadha nidrayaa
yassaakshatkurute prabodhasamaye swatmana mevadwayam
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to you, the one who experiences the whole universe that appears as a reflection in a mirror within Himself, the one who appears to be covered by illusion as in sleep, and the one in the wakeful, professing mood, realizes in Himself the non-duality of the soul and the Supreme Being, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

beejasyantarivaankuro jagadidam pragnirviklapam pu
nar maaya kalpita desa kala kalanaa vaichityra chitreekrutam
maayaaveeva vijrumbhayatyapi mahaa yogeeva yaswechchyaa
tasmai sree gurumoortaye nama idam sridakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, to the one who creates with his powers of creating illusion becoming a great seer and sage the wondrous things and the universe again as a little sprout from the seed, to such a one, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

yasyaiva sphuranam sadaaatmakam asat kalpardhakam bhaasate
saakshaat tatwa maseeti veda vachasaa yo bodhayatyaashritaan
yas sakshatkaranabhavenna punaraavritti bhavaambhonidhau
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one the mere thought of whom makes the world and its affairs shine, the one in whom inheres apparently the Vedic maxim That Thou Art, the one with whose manifestation freedom from the cycle of birth and death is overcome, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

nanaa chchidra ghatodarastitha mahaa deepa prabhaa bhaaswaram
jnaanam yasyatu chakshuraadi karanadwaara bahispandate
jaanameeti tameva bhaantamanubhaatyanta spurantham sadaa
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one seen as radiance from the lamp in a pot with many holes, the one whose knowledge flashes out through all the sense organs, the one who radiates the effulgence of Supreme Being to the inner mind, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

deham praanamapeendriyaanyapi chalaam budhhincha soonyam viduh
stree baalaandhajadopamasthwahamiti bhrantaabhrusam vaadinah
maaya sakti vilaasa kalpita mahaa vyaamoha samharine
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one who destroys the delusion under maaya as in women, children the stupid and the blind that ’I’ is the body, life breath, senses, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

raahugrastha diwakarendu sadruso maaya samaachhchdanaath
sanmaatrah karanopa samharana to yo bhut sushuptah pumaan
pragaswaapsamiti prabhodha samayeh yah pratyabhijnayate
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one who folds up all functions and enters the state of sleep and becomes a veil like maaya, as when the Sun or Moon eclipsed, and the one who waking up realizes it as illusion having gone to sleep, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

baalyadishaypi jagradaadishu tadha sarwa swawastswapi
vyavrutta swanu vartamaanamaham ityantha spurantham sadaa
swatmaanam prakateekarothi bhajataam yo mudraya bhadrayaa
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one who shows always to all devotees the chinmudra the reassuring gesture of being in everyone in all stages of childhood, youth and age, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

viswam pasyathi kaarya kaarana ya swaswami sambhanditah
sishyaacharya tayaa tadhaiva pitruputraadyatmanaa bhedatah
swapne jagrutivaa ya yesha purusho maaya pari bhraamitah
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one Divine Teacher who sees in himself the world of cause and effect and all diversity as the possessor-possession, father-son, teacher-taught, asleep-and fully awake, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

bhoorambhaasyanilo nalombara maharnaatho himamshuh puman
itya bhaati charaacharaatmakamidam yastyaiva mooryashtakam
naanyatkinchinavidyate vimrusathaam yasmaat parasmaat vibho
tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

Salutations to You, the one whose eight-fold form appearing diversely as the elements, the sun, moon and jeeva, to the one beyond whom there exists nothing for anyone enquiring, Salutations to You Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

sarwatma twamiti sphuteekrutamidam yasmaadmushmin stawe
tenaasya sravanntaat tadardha mananaat dhyanascha sankeertanaath
sarwaatmatwa mahaa vibhooti sahitah syadeeswaratwam swatah
siddheth tatpuranashthadha parinatham aishwaryamavyahatam

That THAT THOU ART is described in the hymn. By listening to it, by reflecting and meditating on it, by repeatedly reciting it, one will attain the state of divinity and be endued with the glory of AATMA along with the eight-fold powers of the Divine.

(This is the phalashruti, the fruit of listening etc. of the hymn. Usually all hymns and stotras end with a stanza called phalashruti.)